Much Ado About Nothin
...stage to create a little world in order to examine the society at large. Discuss how the world created in the text allows the dominant ideologies of the time to be explored.
- Examine and make notes on Much Ado About Nothing focusing
on a selection of both male and female character.
- Attention should be paid to the manner in which the language and actions of the characters reflect the dominant values of Elizabethan society.
- Consider how the ideas either challenge or endorse the attitudes and values of the target audience.
- Evaluate the difference between Elizabethan and modern gender expectations.
Shakespeare's romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing is set in the seaport town of Messina in Sicily, and reflects the dominant values of an English Elizabethan society. The play tells the story of Claudio of Florence, Hero the young woman with whom he falls in love, her witty cousin Beatrice and her male counterpart Benedick. The Prince of Aragon, Don Pedro and the Governor of Messina, Leonato have an exalted status due to their positions of power thus they are in control of the gulling of both Benedick and Beatrice. The antagonist of the play, Don John who is the bastard brother of the regal Don Pedro, provides the deceit, lies and denigrations, which bring dark notes into the plot development of the play. The minor characters such as Friar Francis who is symbolic of the influence of the church and the serving class such as Borachio, Margaret, Dogberry and the sentries illustrating the entire range of social classes and thus reflecting the macrocosm of Elizabethan England. The dominant ideologies of the Elizabethan era are portrayed to the audience through the plot line, the actions and language of the characters. These ideologies include the divine social order, gender roles, role of the church and the state, war and loyalty. Shakespeare employs the...
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